7 Navigation Best Practices to Boost User Experience

Navigation dictates how a user moves around your website. The better they move around, the better the experience and they more likely they are to convert.

By following a few navigation best practices, you can create a more effective user experience.

First things first: what type of navigation do you choose?

Types of website navigation

Horizontal Text is probably the most common online. As the name would suggest, it’s a horizontal list of the pages on the website.

Vertical Text is common for a for sites that need a long list of pages. Usually (but not always) found on the left hand side.

Drop downs are often found in horizontal navs. They allow a user to jump between main and sub sections.

Sub menus sit below the main navigation and presents users with pages upfront. Though unconventional, they do show a user all the pages available.

Icon navigation uses graphics to help create a more intuitive browsing experience.

So what’s the importance of website navigation?

The structure of your website navigation and the labels you use in it can have a huge impact on the overall performance of your site. Particularly when it comes to UX, SEO and conversions.
Don’t see the importance of having a well thought out navigation?

Let’s say you were looking to buy a badass off-roading vehicle (and why wouldn’t you). Which site are you more likely to browse and buy from?

Site #1 – buyareeper.com

Or site #2 – arngren.net

I think I’ve made my point. Hopefully #1 is just a little bit easier to navigate.

A good website navigation affects two things all website owners want more of: